Megan Comfort got into banking on the advice of her mother. Comfort's mother, an immigrant from the Philippines, worked as a bank teller for most of Comfort's childhood, and urged her daughter to go into banking because of the benefits and the opportunity to try different roles.
Immediately after high school, Comfort began working as a teller at Nevada State Bank, a subsidiary of Zions Bancorp. Three years later, she joined the small-business banking team at the bank. "That's when I fell in love with banking. I loved helping small-business owners," she said.
While working full time, Comfort attended the University of Nevada-Las Vegas to earn a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance. "UNLV had offered courses in banking as well as finance, so it was a nice way to go through college because the degree I was getting was going to be extremely relevant to what I was already doing," she recalled.
In 2013, Comfort was promoted to manage NSB's SBA and small-business team. She has been promoted several times within the bank, and in 2023, she was put in charge of managing the bank's retail business banking team. Comfort now manages 22 small-business relationship managers across the state of Nevada while also serving as the main liaison for the SBA.
As a leader, Comfort said it's important to have a vision and be able to communicate that vision effectively to your team. "And then you want to create a culture that aligns with that overall vision. You want your team members to not only be successful, but to also feel appreciated and enjoy what they do," she said.
For young people entering the industry, Comfort advises them to find a mentor and make sure it's someone who is honest and will give tough advice. "You have to be open to criticism and get comfortable being uncomfortable. That's how you grow," she said.
Outside of work, Comfort is an instructor for the EDGE program through the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. The free program helps women and minority-owned businesses impacted by the pandemic gain access to education classes related to starting, planning and growing their businesses. Comfort teaches classes on cash flow management, business planning and strategic planning.
"I love doing it. My husband actually owns two small businesses here in Las Vegas, so I understand it not only from the perspective of being a banker, but also being married to an entrepreneur that has the same problems that they face," she said.
